Opera Ballo the likely favorite in first European Kentucky Derby qualifier of 2025

Led by a brilliant recent maiden race winner in Opera Ballo, Wednesday’s $75,800 European Road to the Kentucky Derby Condition Stakes at Kempton Park outside of London is the first race of 2025 in the European-Middle East qualifying series for the Kentucky Derby.

None of the six entrants in the Road to the Kentucky Derby Condition Stakes at a mile were nominated for $600 to the American Triple Crown in late January. The next nomination deadline, with a fee of $6,000, is April 7.

Opera Ballo, owned by Godolphin Racing and trained by Charlie Appleby, won a maiden race at a mile by 8 1/2 lengths at Kempton on Jan. 29 at odds of 4-9 and is likely to be a similar price on Wednesday. William Buick takes the mount for the first time on the colt, who's by Ghaiyyath.

The Godolphin-Appleby team also starts Olympus Point, the winner of a one-mile handicap on turf at Newmarket Racecourse last September in his fourth start. Olympus Point later finished second in a seven-furlong handicap in his final start at 2. Wednesday’s race will be Olympus Point’s first start of 2025 and as a gelding.

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The race will be the 3-year-old debut for Saddadd, who won a one-mile allowance race on the all-weather track at Southwell Racecourse in Britain in December in his only start. Saddadd, trained by Roger Varian, is likely to be the second choice in the Road to the Kentucky Derby Stakes.

The first five finishers will earn 20-10-6-4-2 qualifying points in the European-Middle East series. For the first time this year, the Kentucky Derby qualifying format for Europe incorporates the Group 2 United Arab Emirates Derby at Meydan Racecourse on April 5, with 100 qualifying points available to the winner of that race.

The top two runners from the European-Middle East qualifying series will gain berths in the Kentucky Derby, provided they finish in the first four in the overall standings. There were four qualifying races last September and October, though no horses that earned points in those races have been nominated to the Triple Crown.

The Road to the Kentucky Derby Condition Stakes has a post time of 2:30 p.m. Eastern and is the seventh race on a nine-race program.

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